


One to Grow On

by cupsofstardust



Series: one hundred ways to say "i love you" [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Pre-Relationship, Secret Crush, They/Them Pronouns for Tenten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25250635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupsofstardust/pseuds/cupsofstardust
Summary: "Make a wish."-(What's a party without a little yearning?)
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: one hundred ways to say "i love you" [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1488878
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	One to Grow On

**Author's Note:**

> Number 5 on [this](https://p0ck3tf0x.tumblr.com/post/98502010026/one-hundred-ways-to-say-i-love-you) list.
> 
> Happy birthday Sasuke!

"Sakura!"

She looks up from the conversation she's having with Ino and Sai, her drink—a bright pink concoction she's been nursing for the better part of an hour, complete with a decorative umbrella (courtesy of Sai)—sloshing a little in its glass.

"Have you seen Sasuke?"

"No, why? Did he disappear?" she asks, looking like she already knows the answer.

Naruto runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "Yeah, I can't find him. Kiba wanted to know if he could take home the rest of the cake but I told him that it's not _my_ cake so he told _me_ to ask _Sasuke,_ but—well, you get it."

Ino drains the last of her drink and sets the glass on the coffee table beside her. "I'm sure he won't care. Sasuke doesn't really like cake anyway, I don't think it matters to him either way."

"Yeah, well, I care," Naruto huffs. "Maybe Itachi will want some, or something."

"Sorry, none of us have seen him. He might be hiding upstairs in your room?"

He shakes his head. "Lee's the only one up there."

Sai raises an eyebrow. "Why is Lee in your bedroom?"

"He's drunk off his ass and needed somewhere to crash, and I wasn't about to put him in Iruka's room." Naruto sighs. "I'll keep looking, I guess. Thanks anyway, Sakura."

He maneuvers around them, careful not to step on their hands, and heads into the kitchen, where Kiba is sitting at the table, spinning a bottle of water in front of him. 

"You find him yet?" he asks, perking up a little and accidentally knocking the bottle over. It nearly rolls onto the floor but Naruto catches it as he passes and nudges it back towards Kiba.

"Nope, I'm gonna check outside I think." 

"Good luck."

"Thanks." 

Naruto ducks through the kitchen into the hallway and nearly collides with Neji and Tenten.

"Careful," Tenten chastises, but there's no heat in their voice. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Looking for Sasuke," he answers. "You guys leaving already?"

"Yeah, Neji's got a class tomorrow and I have to work. Sorry to bail on you." To their credit, Tenten _does_ look apologetic. 

"Nah, it's fine. Did you say bye to Sasuke?"

Neji nods, gesturing behind him with a thumb. "Yeah, we just did. He's out on the back porch."

"Cool, thanks. Quick question: are you willing to give Lee a ride? It's fine if you're not, but it's just—Kiba lives pretty out of the way and there's not a whole lot of room on Sakura's motorcycle as it is, so—"

Neji cuts him off with a wave. "Yeah, we'll go get him." He turns to Tenten. "I'll go get Hinata, you wake up Lee."

"Why do I have to wake up Lee?" Tenten complains.

"Because he's clingy when he's drunk and I don't want to deal with—"

Naruto leaves their argument behind, heading into the study. Through the sliding glass door, Naruto can make out Sasuke leaning against the rail, illuminated by the shitty porch light. His heart beats a little bit faster.

The sound of the door sliding open makes Sasuke look back at him over his shoulder. His dark eyes glitter, and he shifts to make some room beside him.

"Took you long enough," he says, but there's no bite to it. In fact, he sounds a little bit amused.

Naruto leans against the rail beside him, trying not to think of how their arms and hips are pressing together, of all the places they're touching, and breathes a sigh born of contentment. 

From being near Sasuke, from the fading scent of that stupid coconut-almond- _whatever_ shampoo he likes, from the steadiness of his breath and the sturdiness of his body.

He could melt into him, drip through the slats in the patio below them. It's tempting, the idea of leaning his head into the crook of Sasuke's neck, but he doesn't.

Because Sasuke doesn't know, and Naruto can't tell him. He can't lose Sasuke, he refuses to.

So he ignores all of it, the frantic beating of his heart and the butterflies wreaking havoc in his stomach and the way the muscles in Sasuke's arm flex when he moves even the smallest amount, and he looks at the stars instead.

"Did you enjoy your party?"

Sasuke shifts a little, his warmth moving away before pressing back against Naruto; he can't decide if it's his imagination, or if he's actually pressing a little closer. "It was fun. I'm never playing Mario Kart with Sakura again, but... yeah. I had fun."

There's a smile in his voice, and it makes Naruto's insides all nice and fuzzy and warm, like he swallowed the sun and it's shining through him.

He grins. "I don't blame you, I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of that either."

Sasuke glances at him out of the corner of his eye and opens his mouth to say something, then closes it immediately and frowns, his gaze shifting away. As if he's embarrassed. 

He opens his mouth again and this time, he says, "Thank you."

Naruto blinks, his heart fluttering into his throat and his gaze lifting from where it had been trained on Sasuke's lips. He has to swallow it in order to speak. "For what?"

Sasuke huffs, blowing his hair off his face for a moment before it settles back into the same spot. "You know—" He turns to face Naruto and gestures behind them, into the house. "For this. For throwing me a party. You didn't have to."

"I mean." Naruto swallows again. "Sure, I didn't have to, but I wanted to. You deserve to have some fun. 'Specially on your birthday." He shrugs, looking back out at the yard and willing the blood away from his cheeks. 

Sasuke twists around, his back pressing against the rail and his arms crossed comfortably, and he bumps Naruto gently, playfully. As an extra _thanks,_ and a _you're so stupid._

Naruto bumps him back, a _you're welcome,_ and an _I know,_ and an _I love you._

Just then, there's a knock on the glass behind them, and then the door slides open. Naruto glances over his shoulder.

"Sasuke, I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving. I know it's impolite to leave a party without saying goodbye, so... Goodbye."

"Bye, Sai. Thanks for coming."

"I'm just surprised I was invited. Thank you. I hope you had a good birthday." With a smile, Sai closes the door and disappears back into the house.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto starts, remembering why he came out here in the first place. God, Sasuke is too distracting for his own good. "Kiba had a question for you."

Sasuke's gaze slides over to him, curious.

"He wanted to know if he could bring home the rest of the cake. I told him I had to ask you, since it's yours."

He shrugs a shoulder. "I don't care. It's not like I'm gonna have any more of it, and Itachi isn't home enough to enjoy it."

"Right, just wanted to make sure. I'll go let him know." 

He starts for the door, then stops with his hand on the handle and turns around. 

"You comin' too, or...?"

Sasuke pushes off the railing, his arms falling to his sides, and follows him into the house. When they enter the living room, Sakura looks up. 

"Hey birthday boy," she says cheerfully, hopping off the couch and planting a kiss on Sasuke's cheek. "Ino and I are gonna head out pretty soon, I think. She has to go in early tomorrow, since she's covering Shikamaru's shift."

Sasuke doesn't wipe off her kiss like he normally would. Instead, he folds her in a quick hug, and says, "No problem. I should get home soon, anyway. Last thing I need is Itachi chewing me out."

Ino comes back and joins them, wrapping her arms around Sakura's waist and swaying gently. Sakura puts her hands over Ino's and turns to look at her.

"Ready to go?" she asks.

Ino nods tiredly, then looks up at Sasuke. "Happy birthday, again. I want a rematch next time we play Mario Kart."

Sasuke rolls his eyes, but the grin on his face belies his annoyance. "Sure thing. I'll still win, but I'll indulge you anyway."

"Those are fighting words, Uchiha."

Sakura laughs and twists out of Ino's grip, taking her by the hand and leading her away. 

"Bye, guys!" Naruto calls after them. 

"Bye Naruto," they respond in unison, then blink in surprise and laugh at themselves.

He shakes his head fondly, a smile on his face.

"Are Sakura and Ino leaving too?" Kiba asks from the doorway into the kitchen.

"Yeah, Ino has work. You're good to bring the cake home, by the way," Sasuke tells him. 

Kiba grins. "Cool, thanks man." He heads back into the kitchen to grab it, his voice growing louder so they can still hear him. "My mom has me starting up at the clinic again for the summer, so I have to get going too. Early start tomorrow." There's a pause. "Plus, I think Akamaru is developing separation anxiety." He appears in the doorway again, box of cake in hand. "It's something I'm trying to work on."

"Thanks for coming," Sasuke says. "Good luck with the separation anxiety thing."

Kiba claps him on the back. "No problem, dude. Hope you had a good one."

Sasuke glances sidelong at Naruto, who has to valiantly fight the blush that threatens to rise when he says, "I did."

As soon as Sakura, Ino, and Kiba are out the door, he turns to Sasuke. 

"You gonna bail now too?" he asks, trying not to sound too disappointed. 

"Yeah, I think so. I'm pretty tired." As if to prove it, he stifles a yawn. "Thanks again. You really didn't have to."

He starts for the front door to put on his shoes and Naruto panics, grasping for a way to continue the conversation, to keep Sasuke close for just a little while longer, and he blurts, "I'll walk you home?"

Sasuke pauses halfway through tying his shoe and looks back at him. "Are you asking or offering?"

Naruto's face goes pink and he bites his lip. "Um. Offering?"

"You just did it again," Sasuke points out. 

"God, shut up. I'm walking you home."

Sasuke turns away, but he can't hide his smile. "If you really want to, I guess you can. Come on."

He jams his own shoes on his feet and follows Sasuke out the door, closing it firmly behind him. Sasuke only lives a few houses down, and Iruka should be home soon anyway. Besides, he forgot his key, so he couldn't lock the door if he wanted to. 

Naruto shoves his hands in his pockets, then bumps against Sasuke to get his attention. "Sooo... did you make a wish?"

"Hm?"

"When you blew out the candles. Did you make a wish?"

Sasuke laughs. "I'm not a kid anymore, Naruto. I know those wishes don't mean anything."

Naruto makes an offended noise. "Yeah, but, like... what if you make a wish and it comes true?"

He shrugs, tilting his head back to look at the sky. "There's only one thing I'd wish for, and I don't think it'll ever come true, so..."

Naruto frowns, his eyebrows knitting, then reaches into the pocket of his hoodie and pulls out a candle. "Fine. Here."

From his other pocket, he produces a lighter, and he carefully lights it as they walk. It takes a couple tries, but it catches.

"Why did you have that in your pocket? Naruto, what are you—"

They stop right in front of Sasuke's house, and he holds the candle towards him, watching the light of the flame flicker over his face. 

"Make a wish."

Sasuke eyes the candle, then him, with equal amounts of trepidation. "It doesn't count, it wasn't on the cake."

Naruto huffs in frustration, nearly blowing out the candle himself, and says, "Think of it as... one to grow on. You blew out eighteen, so make a wish for nineteen."

Sasuke opens his mouth to argue, but he pauses, and then looks back to the candle and closes his eyes. Naruto takes the opportunity to drink him in, all his sharp lines and soft curves and the way his eyelashes rest against his cheekbones. 

Sasuke blows the candle out.

"Did you make a wish this time?" Naruto's voice comes out much quieter than he intended. 

"Yeah," he murmurs in response, and there's something in his eyes that sends a thrill racing down his spine.

Naruto opens his mouth and hesitates, his pulse rushing in his ears. "If it doesn't come true on its own, I'll make it come true myself."

There's that smile in Sasuke's voice again, the one he loves so much. His heart thrills across his ribs. "Don't be stupid, Naruto. Thanks for walking me home."

He takes a few steps backwards, then turns around and starts for the front door. He stops right before he reaches it, and turns around again, his hand resting on the knob.

"And thanks for the wish."

He smiles, a genuine, real, beautiful smile, and Naruto wants to bunch up his shirt and kiss him right there on the doorstep.

But he doesn't. Because Sasuke doesn't know, even if sometimes it seems like he does. Those dark eyes hide too much.

So no, he doesn't kiss Sasuke, not yet. He stays right where he is, on the sidewalk in front of his house, and he wonders what it was he wished for. 

"Goodnight, Naruto."

He'll find out, he vows, and he'll go to the ends of the Earth to get it for him, so long as Sasuke keeps smiling at him like that.

"Goodnight, Sasuke."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this!
> 
> Comments and kudos are nice, thank you <3


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